New England Public Radio

Another Sex Trafficking Arrest in Western Mass

There’s been another arrest in an on-going effort to crack down on human trafficking in western Massachusetts — this one revolving around a massage parlor in Agawam.

The Hampden County District Attorney’s office says 50-year-old Agawam resident Chun Nu Li had been transporting Chinese immigrant women from New York to the Feeding Hills Spa in Agawam.

DA Anthony Gulluni  said Li was arrested in New York after a five month investigation.

“It really began with the Agawam police department and their awareness of their town, saying there’s something not quite right here,” Gulluni said. “They did get some reports, as we understand it, of some funny activity there, some things that raised some red flags.”

Li’s arrest is separate from an operation earlier this week, led by the Massachusetts Attorney General, in which four alleged sex traffickers were arrested for running two prostitution rings at several Western Massachusetts massage parlors, including a different one in Agawam.

Four Arrests On Human Trafficking Around Western Massachusetts

Four people are facing charges for trafficking women between New York, and Central and Western Massachusetts, following an investigation led by Massachusetts’ attorney general Maura Healey.

According to Healey’s office, Feng Ling Liu and her husband, Jian Song — both of Sunderland — plus Liu’s daughter, Ting Ting Yin, transported women from Long Island to Hadley, East Longmeadow and Framingham.

The women were then allegedly forced to have sex for money, using massage parlors as fronts.

A fourth suspect from West Springfield, Shuzi Li, is accused of similar crimes in Northampton and Agawam.

Li was arraigned on Wednesday, while Liu and Song were expected to be arraigned the next day, pending the arrival of an interpreter.

Healey said the victims appear to be Chinese immigrants who were isolated, spoke little English, and lured with false promises.

“They were in New York and then brought into this state, and held in rooms at these locations and forced to stay there while they provided these services round the clock,” Healey said.

Healey said her office is helping ten victims find housing and other support.